Chapter 19: Evan’s Metamorphosis

The next morning, Evan sat cross-legged on his bed.

The day Heres and Hilton were expected to arrive was approaching.

Darwen had also said he’d be visiting today.

Evan would take steps to ensure a natural relationship with him moving forward.

The problem was, he couldn’t predict how Darwen would approach things.

‘I’ll know once he shows up. In the meantime…’

Evan moved quickly.

The most urgent thing right now was purging the mana poison from his body.

Now was the time to start acting in a way that would earn Clyd’s approval.

‘I can’t do that in this body. If I’m going to greet Heres and Hilton properly, I need a completely different appearance.’

It was vital to fully transform his overweight body.

Taking a deep breath, Evan calmed his mind and focused.

He had steadily leveled up for this moment.

[Activating Mana Breathing.]

[If your concentration breaks, Mana Breathing will automatically deactivate.]

Mana flowed through his blood and spread throughout his body.

It was a familiar sensation.

Evan carefully controlled the spreading mana, circulating it through his body.

‘Good. Now that my body’s grown, it’s keeping up nicely.’

Unlike his first attempt, the flow of mana was now stable.

‘In this state, it’s worth trying again.’

Evan recalled the sensation he felt when he first came to this world—when he was still in a soul state.

That feeling of omnipotence.

Of being free and capable of anything.

For Evan, who had shed the armor of the physical body, that experience had been extraordinary.

And he realized something.

‘The body is nothing more than a vessel to contain the soul.’

‘The source of mana isn’t the body. To truly control mana, I have to use the power of the soul.’

‘Everything I knew before… was wrong.’

Only Evan could understand and use the true method.

‘Even if I was skilled at handling mana in my previous world, that was just a fraction of the whole picture.’

If using mana through the body alone only yielded 10% efficiency—

Then using the soul could break that limit.

It could raise mana efficiency to 20%, 30%, or even 100% with enough adaptation and training.

Especially since this body was practically a mana cripple—completely incapable of retaining mana.

He had been forcefully cramming mana into an unsuitable vessel.

Every time he used mana, the strain was immense.

So inefficient that trying anything complex was impossible.

That’s why he had to train for a long time, letting his body slowly adapt to mana.

But now, that was no longer necessary.

‘Just think of using mana through the soul…’

At that moment, Evan began to sense a foreign energy within his body.

[Conqueror Skill, “Conqueror’s Perception,” has been activated.]

With the activation of the Conqueror Skill, he distinctly felt the power of the soul.

In the blink of an eye, a mana circulation loop formed inside his body.

‘That fast?’

Until now, he’d had to fully focus his mind, feel the mana, and carefully control it just to use it.

The process consumed an immense amount of time and mental effort.

Especially since his body wasn’t accustomed to mana.

But now, all of that had been skipped.

It was as if his will alone moved the mana.

A new realm Evan had reached—possible only by using the soul’s power.

‘I feel like I could move all the mana in my body however I want, all at once.’

Fwoosh!

Energized, Evan immediately began to control all the mana within him.

His target was the mana poison that had accumulated in his body over the years.

Evan carefully channeled the soul’s power.

“Gah!”

The mana poison reacted instantly.

The scattered toxins throughout his body converged near his heart in an instant.

Evan’s body convulsed and pulsed repeatedly.

[You have been poisoned by the toxin of the Farna Herb.]

[Poison Resistance Skill has been activated.]

[Poison resistance increased by 70%.]

[Damage from poison reduced by 20%.]

His face turned deathly pale.

***

Time passed.

Eventually, Evan’s complexion returned to normal.

“Huff… huff…”

[Penalty on Intelligence has been lifted.]

[Penalty on Strength has been lifted.]

All the penalties that had been affecting Evan’s body vanished.

He raised his arm to check his condition.

A solid, muscular arm greeted him.

His face, legs, and abs were the same.

There was no trace of his former overweight appearance.

‘No, it’s not over yet. If I don’t fully absorb this mana, my body will return to its original state.’

Evan steadied his breathing and focused again on the mana condensed around his heart.

‘Damn… just how much mana had built up inside me?’

He had gathered all the residual mana poison in his body into his heart.

In the process, he had purged all the toxins.

‘And what’s left is… this massive amount of mana.’

It was like balancing a boulder on top of an egg—dangerously unstable.

Evan used the power of his soul to control the mana condensed in his heart and began absorbing it slowly.

[Mana increased by 120.]

[Mana increased by 250.]

[Mana increased by 330.]

Gritting his teeth, Evan endured the pain.

At first, it was overwhelming.

But his body gradually began to adapt.

And the moment he finished absorbing all the mana—

He gained a new power.

[You have achieved the hidden achievement: “Limitless Realm of Mana.”]

[Achievement Reward: You have acquired the skill “Seeker of Mana.”]

Evan studied the message floating before his eyes, then calmed his breathing and regained composure.

‘Mana is overflowing through every inch of my body.’

Evan opened and closed his palm, focusing on the mana within his body.

‘Seeker of Mana. The hidden achievement reward.’

He had achieved the feat after absorbing all the mana through his soul’s power.

Evan immediately pulled up his skill information window.

[Seeker of Mana]

[Skill Level: F]

[Type: Passive]

[Cost: None]

[Cooldown: None]

[Effect: Activates automatically when manipulating mana.]

[Allows for a deeper understanding and more efficient control of mana.]

[Currently allows up to 20% increased efficiency in mana control.]

‘So it’s related to mana manipulation?’

Evan experimented by concentrating the mana in his body into his palm.

[Seeker of Mana has been activated.]

At that moment, Evan’s soul instinctively took control of the mana without his intention.

The moment he tried to use mana, his soul’s power automatically kicked in.

Mana quickly gathered in his palm.

The entire process was as natural as breathing.

It was like how a three-year-old, once they learned to walk, no longer crawled.

From now on, Evan’s attempts to control mana were instinctively mediated through his soul’s power.

As noted in the skill description, his ability to control mana had grown stronger.

‘And since Seeker of Mana is a growth-type skill, it will keep getting stronger. That means I’ll be able to attempt even more things with it.’

Skills like this often varied drastically depending on how the user developed them.

That’s why experience was crucial.

Of course, for Evan, a former Conqueror, that wasn’t a problem at all.

‘With this, my overall ability to handle mana has multiplied several times over.’

Evan scattered the mana gathered in his palm in an instant.

‘With this level of control… I wonder if I can pull off mana suppression?’

He recalled a technique he often used—mana suppression.

It involved cutting off all internal mana from external sources.

It was a technique used to hide one’s mana from opponents with highly developed mana sensitivity.

And right now, Evan needed exactly that kind of technique.

He slowly began to control his mana.

Whoosh!

A thin, bluish protective layer formed around his body.

All energy was blocked within that blue barrier, preventing anything from leaking outside.

He was now completely isolated from external detection.

Evan couldn’t hide his surprise.

‘To think I pulled this off so easily…’

Now, Evan could completely conceal the fact that he had mana.

For him, this was a major breakthrough.

Revealing his hand before his power was fully matured wasn’t something he welcomed.

‘I was originally planning to find another way, but this saves me the trouble.’

Showing off just the outward changes would be enough for now.

***

Knock knock

“Young Master, the Marquess of Armeria has arrived. He’s waiting in the parlor.”

It was Alburton, knocking at the door.

Only then did Evan realize how much time had passed.

‘It’s already that late?’

But as he tried to move, his clothes slid off.

All the mana toxins in his body had been purged, and along with them, the excess fat.

Evan grabbed his slipping clothes with one hand.

‘I’ll need to get these tailored again.’

He roughly adjusted his outfit and called out.

“Come in.”

Clack!

Alburton opened the door as he always did.

But then—

“Y-Young Master…?”

He was at a loss for words.

The person who should’ve greeted him was the overweight Young Master.

But instead, a completely different presence stood in the room.

A handsome young man in loose-fitting clothes was staring back at him.

The blond hair, the blue eyes, and the sharp gaze—all identical to the Young Master’s.

“What are you doing just standing there? Go fetch some clothes that actually fit.”

“T-That voice… Could it really be you, Young Master?”

Alburton was so stunned he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

The idea that someone could change so drastically overnight was beyond comprehension.

But no matter how many times he looked, only a stunning young man stood before him.

“How could this be? Young Master, what happened to you?”

Evan chuckled and replied casually.

“Just lost some weight. The Marquess helped me out with a special kind of magic. Looks like it worked better than expected.”

He couldn’t be bothered to explain everything, so he used Darwen’s name to make up an excuse.

“Is my appearance really that different?”

Evan looked around the room for a mirror.

There it was—the full-length mirror he usually used when changing clothes.

He walked over and looked into it.

“…What the hell.”

A perfectly sculpted face and a well-proportioned body stared back.

‘Could simply losing weight really change a person this much?’

‘Or had he been unusually good-looking to begin with?’

All sorts of thoughts rushed through Evan’s mind.

But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

The only time he’d ever looked “normal” was before the age of ten.

From the vague memories of that time, he remembered a cute little boy.

If that boy had grown up normally—

‘This is probably what he’d look like… Did I just hit the genetic jackpot?’

Evan let out a dumbfounded laugh.

***

The mansion was in an uproar.

Every time Evan passed by, the maids’ eyes sparkled.

Some even blushed and stared at him in a daze.

“Oh my, who is he?”

“Is he a guest?”

Just looking at his face was enough to make hearts flutter.

But no one knew who he was.

They simply assumed he was a guest since he was walking with Butler Alburton.

“It’s unusually noisy today.”

Evan remarked, noticing the buzz around him.

Alburton replied with a conflicted look.

“It’s likely because you’ve changed so much, Young Master.”

Even he had been so shocked when he first saw Evan that he’d been speechless.

So he understood why the maids were reacting that way.

Now he was worried about how to report this to Clyd.

Before long, Evan and Alburton arrived at the parlor.

Alburton stopped in front of the door and said, “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.”

“Got it. You can go.”

Evan answered lightly and opened the parlor door.

Clack!

Inside sat Darwen and a young girl seated politely beside him.

Both had black hair and red eyes.

Even without being told, it was obvious they were father and daughter.

Evan tilted his head slightly and greeted Darwen.

“Marquess, you’re early today. And the young lady beside you is…?”

But the moment Evan spoke, Darwen’s eyes widened in shock.

He pointed at Evan and blurted out, “That voice—wait, is that you?”

Evan nodded.

A chiseled nose, a sharp jawline, and sapphire-like blue eyes.

With an air of intelligence added to his refined features, he looked like nobility straight out of a fairytale.

Just yesterday, he had been overweight.

‘How could a person change so drastically overnight?’

‘No… This isn’t just a little change.’

Darwen stared at Evan, utterly speechless.